Home Value Growth Continues To Accelerate

January marked the 22nd time in 23 months that the year-over-year home value growth rate increased from the previous month. Home values rose 7.2 percent over the past year to a Zillow Home Value Index of $195,300.

Zillow released the Real Estate Market Report for January. The report says that West Coast markets such as San Jose and San Francisco are no longer king. Instead, southern markets are starting to flourish, as cities like Nashville, Tenn., Tampa, Fla., Dallas, and Orlando, Fla. have all experienced double-digit home value growth, among the highest rates in the nation.

Growth in markets like Nashville could be driven in large part by their renewed popularity among buyers seeking good affordability and a similarly vibrant quality of life. Buyers seeking a home in Nashville or Dallas, for example, should expect to spend 13.8 percent and 11.5 percent of their incomes on a mortgage for a typical home in those areas, respectively – well below the national average.

According to Zillow, rents rose 1.4 percent over the past year to $1,404 per month, and the amount of houses for sale dropped 2.9 percent from January last year.

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